Dr. William Ward has been performing orthopedic surgeries for cancer patients since the 1990s. Back then, the prosthetic parts weren’t yet available off-the-shelf for big bone tumor replacement surgeries, so he had to design them individually to fit his patient’s needs. He would work with manufacturers to design parts that would fit — using crayon.

“I would draw out my design in crayon on the patient’s X-ray and send it to the manufacturer, and they would send me a blueprint where the engineer took my drawing and my size markings and reduced it to a blueprint that they could manufacture from,” Ward said. “We’d go back and forth until it was right. Then I’d sign off on it and they’d make it.”

Although the process for designing prosthetic parts has changed and there are now modular systems to custom assemble a prosthesis to fit most patient’s needs, Ward still maintains his creative approach.

“A lot of what I do is not black and white — but that’s also the beauty of what I do, because I spend a lot of time thinking, ‘What is the best thing for this patient in this situation?’” Ward said, adding that “young doctors find diseases fascinating, while old doctors find people fascinating.”

A hot topic in medicine today is “patient autonomy” — including patients in decision-making. Ward said he has always done that.

“My job is to lay out the options, and most people want my recommendation: ‘What would you do if this was you or your family?’” Ward said. “I try to give them that answer, but you have to incorporate their values and get to know people, spend a little time with them, talk to them.”

Ward said he’s asked whether dealing with cancer all day is discouraging.

“My mentor back when I was a resident said, ‘Bill, I didn’t give them cancer, I just try to help them deal with it.’ That’s how I’ve always thought of it. When you lose, you lose big, but when you win, you win so big — and we usually win.”